Cavs Lament Another Lost Opportunity Against Heat

February 1 2011 Last updated at 10:03 PM ET

Two NBA teams on wildly divergent trajectories midway through the season crossed paths on Monday night. While the Miami Heat continue their push to catch up with the Boston Celtics for the Eastern Conference lead, the Cleveland Cavaliers remain the NBA's worst team in the standings.

While their first visit to Miami ended in a loss 101-95 back in mid-December, their squad was at full strength and the team managed to keep it competitive to the end. This time the large margin of defeat was yet another indication of how the team has regressed since then. Cavs guard Anthony Parker (pictured, right, guarding LeBron James) didn't want to give excuses, yet the reality of their situation is what it is.

"I think we're looking at as we've come through a very tough time, schedule-wise," he said after the deflating loss to the Heat, their 21st in a row and 24th consecutive road loss. "Then you add the injuries on top of that.

"The schedule turns for us, we're going to have some opportunities and we have a homestand coming up. From here on out we need to focus game to game trying to get wins and get better."

Injuries have cast aside several important players and they've played the most road games of any other team. They went winless in 15 games in January with only four games at home; that stretch included tough opponents on the road like the Los Angeles Lakers, Utah Jazz, Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics, and the Orlando Magic.

"That's the NBA," noted Ramon Sessions, who struggled from the field but did contribute seven assists against the Heat. "We can be at any arena on any given night, win or loss. Those are tough teams but its wins that we think we can get no matter who we're playing. We come out every night prepared to win but we just haven't been able to get it so far lately."

Mercifully, the schedule does turn for the better in February. The Cavs only play two road games out of 11 as their roster's health expects to improve. A hungry fan base eager to welcome them back and support their team will also boost morale.

"Home will definitely help with the crowd behind us," said Sessions. "But those teams are NBA teams, their records really don't matter. You have to come out and play hard each and every game. We have a lot of home games coming up, we just have to make the best of it."

That will only happen if the team can put together a steady effort for most, if not all, of the 48 minutes of a game. The Cavs have no choice as they simply don't have the kind of talent like the Heat. While the Cavs enjoyed brief stretches of solid ball as they chipped away at the Heat's lead, it wasn't enough as their inconsistency doomed them.

"We just have to be smarter on both ends of the floor," coach Byron Scott pointed out. "Our guys are competing and playing hard. To put it together for 48 minutes it takes some smarts too, and we have to be a lot smarter on both ends of the floor when we are playing these games."

Former Cavs teammates Zydrunas Ilgauskas and LeBron James preferred to stay diplomatic as they went 3-0 against their old team. Having already played the Cavs on the road and at home already, the initial thrill may have dissipated, but emotions understandably lingered.

''I have nothing bad to say about the players I left and the team," James said before the game. "I wish the organization the best and I wish the fans more than anything the best. We had a lot of great years together.''

Ilgauskas was a bit more candid afterward during a quiet moment inside the Heat locker room.

"It's weird to play against a team that you've been part of for 14 years," he admitted. "It's emotional, more than anything else. It's never just another game but it's nice to get a win."

Source: http://nba.fanhouse.com/2011/02/01/cavs-lament-another-lost-opportunity-against-heat/

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